The 1976 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1976. It was the 62nd Rose Bowl Game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the number one ranked and undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes 23–10 in a rare bowl rematch of a regular season game. UCLA quarterback John Sciarra was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. This was the first post season that football teams from the Big Ten Conference and Pacific-10 Conference could appear in other bowl games since the Rose Bowl agreement was signed for the 1947 Rose Bowl. This game marked Ohio State coach Woody Hayes' last appearance in the Rose Bowl game.

This was the second meeting between the two schools that season. Ohio State handed UCLA its first loss of the season, 41–20, on October 4, 1975, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. After the game, Woody Hayes prophetically told his team that they would be facing UCLA again in the Rose Bowl. UCLA was the only opponent to score more than 14 points in a game all season against Ohio State, and they did it twice.

Ohio State Buckeye coach Woody Hayes brought an undefeated, untied team featuring two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin to Pasadena. It was the record fourth consecutive appearance for Hayes. It was also eighth and final appearance in the Rose Bowl for Hayes. It was a record fourth and final Rose Bowl start for Griffin. Until Brian Cushing of USC started in his fourth Rose Bowl in the 2009 Rose Bowl, Griffin was the only player to start in four Rose Bowls. Ohio State capped an undefeated regular season by defeating Michigan 21–14 in Ann Arbor for Woody's last outright Big Ten championship, and also his last victory over Michigan in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. The Wolverines held the Buckeyes 30 minutes without a score. Tied at 14–14, and having already tied two non-conference opponents, the Wolverines needed a win to ensure that they would advance to the Rose Bowl. Freshman Michigan quarterback Rick Leach threw an interception caught by Ray Griffin, which was run to the 3-yard line. Big Pete Johnson ran it in for the winning touchdown. Michigan, which finished the regular season 8–1–2, was invited to the Orange Bowl to face #3 ranked Oklahoma.

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